OBSERVATIONS / RECOLLECTIONS / STORIES

Hi Jolly

This is the story of Philip Tedro, a man of half Greek, half Syrian descent who, in the mid-1800s, became lead camel wrangler in the U.S. Army “Camel Corps.”

Yes, for a brief period prior to the Civil War, camels were used by the U.S Army. It was just an experiment, and it didn’t last, but camels, in fact, helped build an important early wagon route and carried mail and supplies between Texas and California.

In 1848, after the war with Mexico ended, the vast territory of the southwest became part of the United States. When gold was discovered in California in 1849, thousands of people began to surge West. The U.S. government was faced with the immediate need to map, defend, and supply the new territory and its inhabitants.

But the desert was a formidable barrier. Horses and mules were the only practical means of transporting people and goods at the time, and the desert conditions — the heat, the scarcity of water, the vast distances — were a severe restriction.

In 1855, U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis was presented with a plan to import camels and create a federal wagon route across the Southwest. Davis approved the plan. Congress appropriated $30,000 for the purpose.

Philip Tedro was born in 1828, maybe in Greece, maybe in Syria. As a young man, he embraced Islam and made the pilgrimage — the hadj — to Mecca. Thus, he was permitted to add the title hadji to his name. He took the name Hadji Ali.

For a time, Hadji Ali served with the French Army in Algiers, where he learned the art of handling camels. When a U.S. Army contingent arrived to purchase camels for the Camel Corps, he promptly signed up to accompany the beasts to America.

In 1856, an American ship landed in Texas with a cargo of 33 camels and their handlers. Another 44 camels arrived soon after.

The soldiers assigned to the Camel Corps described Hadji Ali as a friendly, happy-go-lucky fellow. They liked him and respected his skills, but were unable or unwilling to pronounce his name correctly.

Soon, Hadji Ali was corrupted to Hi Jolly.

Hi Jolly quickly rose to the position of chief camel wrangler. He went on the first westward expedition of the Camel Corps in 1857 led by Edward Beale, a civilian contractor.

The camels carried loads of 600 to 800 pounds each. They traveled 25 to 30 miles per day, delivered their cargo to California, and returned to Texas carrying a new load of goods.

Beale wrote a glowing report on the performance of the camels. “They pack water for days under a hot sun and never get a drop; they pack heavy burdens of corn and oats for months and never get a grain; and on the bitter greasewood and other worthless shrubs, not only subsist, but keep fat.”

“I look forward to the day,” he said, “When every mail route across the continent will be conducted and worked altogether with this economical and noble brute.”

The camels were rightly praised for their endurance, speed, strength, and adaptability. But in truth, they were accustomed to the fine-grained sand of their native deserts. They struggled in the rocky terrain of the southwest, and their hooves often had to be heavily padded for protection.

In addition, the soldiers reported that the camels had other liabilities: a strong and unpleasant odor; a tendency to regurgitate and spit; flashes of sudden aggressiveness; and razor-sharp teeth.

Furthermore, the local horses, burros, and mules were afraid of the odd-looking creatures and sometimes panicked at their sight.

For many months, camel caravans transported freight around the region. In 1858, the Army asked Congress to authorize more camels, but it wasn’t to be. Congress was preoccupied. The Civil War was about to erupt.

In the 1940s, a former prospector, Bill Kaiser, was interviewed by an Arizona newspaper.

“I’ll tell you why the government quit fooling with the camels,” Kaiser said. “It wasn’t because they didn’t do a good job. They could carry a thousand pounds of freight 65 miles a day, and they went three days without water. But they scared hell out of every varmint that sighted ’em, and they caused plenty of trouble.

“Hi Jolly told me about it. Those camels were lonesome for the caravans of their home country, and every time they sighted a prospector’s mule train, they’d make a break for it.

“You’ve heard of how horses bolted at the sight of the first automobiles. That wasn’t anything compared to the fright those ugly, loping camels threw into mules. The mules would lay back their ears and run for their lives.”

In 1858, the Army ended its camel experiment. Some of the animals were kept by their Middle Eastern handlers. A few escaped into the desert. The rest were sold, for $31.00 each, to zoos and circuses.

The eight handlers were released by the Army and left on their own.

Hi Jolly kept several camels and started a business carrying freight between remote mining camps and ports along the Colorado River.

For the next 40 years, he hauled freight, delivered mail, worked as a cavalry scout, and prospected around Arizona.

In 1880, Hi Jolly became a U.S. citizen. He married Gertrudis Serna of Tucson and began using the name Philip Tedro again. They had two children.

Over time, Tedro released his camels into the desert. Some say he was searching for one of them when he died in 1902.

According to the legend, he located the camel at sundown, but was caught in a sandstorm. The next day, he was discovered dead with his arm across the camel’s neck.

The last wild camel in Arizona was captured in 1946. The last reported sighting of a wild camel in the region was in Baja California in 1956.

On the road with the Camel Corps.

Philip Tedro in 1896.

The Ballad of Hi Jolly

By the New Christy Minstrels, 1963Written by Randy Sparks

Hi Jolly was a camel driver, long time ago,
Followed Mr. Beale a-way out west.
Didn’t mind the burnin’ sand in that God-forsaken land,
But he “didn’t mind” the pretty gals the best.

Hi Jolly, hey Jolly,
Twenty miles today, by golly,
Twenty more before the morning light.
Hi Jolly, hey, I gotta be on my way.
I told my gal I’d be home Sunday night.

They got pretty gals in Albuquerque, least that’s what I’ve heard.
Pretty gals in Tucumcari, too.
Now, Honey, I ain’t blind, but I don’t pay ’em any mind.
I’m savin’ all my lovin’ just for you.

Hi Jolly, hey Jolly,
Twenty miles today, by golly,
Twenty more before the morning light.
Hi Jolly, hey, I gotta be on my way.
I told my gal I’d be home Sunday night.

Old timers out in Arizona tell you that it’s true:
You can see Hi Jolly’s ghost a-travelin’ still.
When that desert moon is bright, he comes ridin’ through the night,
Leadin’ four-and-twenty camels ‘cross the hill.

Hi Jolly, hey Jolly,
Twenty miles today, by golly,
Twenty more before the morning light.
Hi Jolly, hey, I gotta be on my way.
I told my gal I’d be home Sunday night.